Safety and engine control systems in modern automobiles and other vehicles are powered by electrical current. Electrical power is generally stored and dispensed to these systems from a storage battery located under the hood or in the trunk of the vehicle. The electrical current is dispensed to these systems via electrical cables and wires that originate at the positive and negative terminal posts of the storage battery.
A battery terminal clamp provides the connection between the cables and the battery terminal posts. Many battery terminal clamp designs are available to vehicle manufacturers. However, these vehicle manufacturers are always seeking improved battery terminal clamp designs.
Because these clamps are typically placed under the hood of the vehicle, they are subjected to road tar, vibration, extreme variations in temperature and ambient humidity, and the deleterious and corrosive effects of rain, snow, and road salt spray.
Battery terminal clamps are typically neither cleaned nor regularly maintained. In fact, they are generally ignored until the vehicle owner is stranded as a result of the failure of the electrical storage battery or its related cable or wire. As a result, the battery terminal clamps must be rugged and reliable, so as to withstand the harsh conditions to which they are subjected.
Preferably, the design of a battery terminal clamp should be simple, with as few parts and as few moving parts, as possible. The design should be corrosion resistant, easy to fabricate and assemble, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The design should also have a relatively low profile, so as to fit within the small under-hood confines of modern lightweight automobiles. The design should be rugged, highly conductive, and provide strong and reliable clamping power.